Warm-ups Answer the question: What is government? Why do we have it?

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Presentation on theme: "Warm-ups Answer the question: What is government? Why do we have it?"— Presentation transcript:

1Warm-ups Answer the question: What is government? Why do we have it?What are its goals?Do we need it?

2James Madison: President #4, Drafter of The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, Etc.“What is government but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?If men were angels no government would be necessary.”The Federalist Papers #51, 1788

3Warm up: Sept. 4, 2008 Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another.Montesquieu ( )Montesquieu was the most widely quoted author of the writers of the Constitution.What do these short quotes mean?What do they say about the types of laws that the Founders set out to create?

4Warm-up: 9/5/2008“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”2nd Amendment to the ConstitutionIf one of the goals of government is to make people not be afraid of each other, why would the government want to protect people’s right to carry weapons?

5“They can have my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers“They can have my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.” -Charlton Heston

7Warm up: 9/8/2008 Is freedom of speech important? Why?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.The First Amendment of the ConstitutionIs freedom of speech important? Why?Should people be able to say whatever they want, whenever they want, where ever they want?

8Warm-up: 9/9/2008 Does Religion affect government? Should it?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.The First Amendment of the ConstitutionDoes Religion affect government? Should it?What do you want to know about a candidate’s religious beliefs? Why?

9Warm up: 9/10/2008 Do not write this down! Think about it.What would you do if you were the most powerful person in the world?You wake up in the morning and you discover that you have all the power in the world. What is the first thing you do?

10Warm-ups “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”Lord Acton, British PhilosopherIs this true?If this is true, what does it say about how we should structure our government?How should we distribute power?

11Warm-up: Sept. 11, 2008It is seven years since the attacks on 9/11/2001.How has the United States responded to the attacks?Have we done a good job? Are we safer?

13Habeas Corpus “Show me the body”The government has to justify the imprisonment of a prisoner.“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.”Article I, section 9, clause 2

14Warm up: 9/12/2008Should the rights given in the Constitution be Universal?

15Warm up: 9/12/2008What are three policies or issues on which you would like the next president of the United States to agree with you?

16In Groups, In classStudy your assigned system of Government. (page 38-40)Create a poster and presentation with the following:The name of your system of GovernmentA description of your system of GovernmentA slogan for your system of governmentAn illustrationYou will be graded as a group and on your participation:Total: __/20

17Warm up: 9/15/2008Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. Thomas PaineWhat does T. Paine think about government?What kind of government would he like to see?

19Common Sense: 1776120,000 books sold (out of two million residents) best selling book of the century in the Western Hemisphere.King George III: a “Royal Brute.”“…in America the law is king”“there is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”John Adams: this book is a “Crapulous Mass.”

20Warm up: 9/16/2008“The great and chief end of men uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of property.”John Locke, Enlightenment Thinker

21Warm up: 9/16/2008People join governments only “for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates, which I call by the general name-property.”John Locke, Enlightenment thinkerWhat does this mean? Put it in your own words.If this is true, what implications does it have for government? Who has the power to change government?

22Warm up: 9/17/2008How do you think the first government began? What makes you think that?What are the four theories of the origins of government?

23Warm up: 9/18/2008Name 3 principles by which you lead your life, or would like to lead your life.How do these affect your life?Where do you get them?the ethics of someone may be seen as a set of principles that the individual obeys in the form of rules, as guidance or law.Treat every child as a unique genius.Teach people as you would like to be taught.Teach like there is no tomorrow.

24Warm up: 9/22/2008 Why do people use violence?What would it take for you to use violence against your government?Name three actions your government would have to take.

25John Locke Natural Rights: given by God, not by Government. LifeLibertyProperty

26Warm up: 9/24/2008 “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”Gordon Gecko (played by Michael Douglas) based on Ivan BoeskyWhat is greed?Is it good? Why?Is it greed that has made America powerful?

27America: Path to IndependenceFirst English Colonies on the New World:Jamestown, 1607Tobacco, Sugar, Rice, eventually CottonNew England, 1621Fish, Tar, Gold, Timber, FursThe Settlers went seeking Economic, Religious, and Legal freedoms.The Reasons for independence would be Economic and Ideological.

29The Revolutionary War 1776-1783General George Washington led a successful Guerilla war against a stronger, but less determined adversary.

30The Articles of ConfederationNo Balance between large and small states.No Supremacy Clause, central government could not force the states to obey it.No power to raise taxes.No money=no armyNo army=little power

31Shays’ Rebellion"I have been greatly abused, have been obliged to do more than my part in the war; been loaded with class rates, town rates, province rates, Continental rates and all rates...been pulled and hauled by sheriffs, constables and collectors, and had my cattle sold for less than they were worth...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers."

32George Washington“There are combustibles in every state which a spark might set fire to…If government cannot check these disorders, what security has a man for Life, Liberty, and Property?”1787

33In Groups of 2-3In your opinion, was the Articles of Confederation adequate to govern the United States?Three (3) reasons (facts, arguments) to support your thesis.Three (3) specific changes that should be made to the Articles to help secure Life, Liberty, and Property.Answer in complete sentences.One paper per group

35Warm up: 9/23/2008When the Colonists rebelled against Britain, they faced a stronger, richer, better organized military force. They lost most of the battles that they engaged in.Why do you think they ended up winning the War for Independence?

36Warm Up: 9/25/2008 A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas JeffersonWhat do these quotes mean?

37The First Political PartiesFederalists: Hamilton, Madison, Jay, AdamsWanted a stronger Federal (central) government to protect Life, Liberty, and (especially) Property.Loved the new ConstitutionAnti-Federalists: Jefferson, Patrick HenryWanted to keep the Federal Government weak.

38Anti-FederalistsThe Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution. Basically, they argue that:It gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the state governments.There was no bill of rights.The national government could maintain an army in peacetime.Congress, because of the `necessary and proper clause,' wielded too much power.The executive branch held too much power.

39The FederalistsThe Federalists, on the other hand, had answers to all of the Anti-Federalist complaints. Among them:The separation of powers into three independent branches protected the rights of the people. Each branch represents a different aspect of the people, and because all three branches are equal, no one group can assume control over another.A listing of rights can be a dangerous thing. If the national government were to protect specific listed rights, what would stop it from violating rights other than the listed ones? Since we can't list all the rights, the Federalists argued that it's better to list none at all.

40Ratification: 1789 The Federalists had promised a Bill of Rights.It was delivered and the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution were passed in 1791.

41Rank the AmendmentsPut the Bill of Rights into your own words, listing out the specific rights in each Amendment.Rank them according to their importance.Explain why you chose your top two and bottom two Amendments.

42Warm up: 9/26/2008Which of the Rights included in the Bill of Rights do you think are the most important? Why?How do people use these rights?

44McCain on GreedMcCain, campaigning in Florida, promised reforms, too, to expose and end the "reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed" that he said had caused the financial crisis on Wall Street."

45Warm up:"What kind of society isn't structured on greed? The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm; capitalism is that kind of a system." -- Milton FriedmanHow does the United States try to make sure that greed does as little harm as possible?

46Warm upA democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. Thomas JeffersonWhat are some problems with democracy?What are some solutions to those problems?

47Warm up: 9/30/2008How has the United States tried to make sure that your rights are respected?List the ways

48The Supreme Court Pick two cases For each case:Summarize the case: who, what, where, whyThree arguments for each side (1 sentence each)Cite the Constitution (including Amendments) at least twice for each case, in your arguments.Vote. Record the vote.Write a majority opinion. Why did you choose the verdict that you did? (3-4 sentences)

50PrecedentA legal rule established by a judicial decision that guides subsequent judicial decisions.Judges will follow the legal principles established by prior cases.

51Dred Scott V Sandford, 1857Scott, owned by a surgeon had lived for two years in the free territories of Illinois and Wisconsin.Sued in Missouri Circuit court for his freedom. The Circuit Court declared him free.His owner took the case to the State Supreme Court, which ruled that he was not free.The Case went to the Supreme Court of the United States

52The Ruling The Court ruled: 6-3Dred Scott did not have the right to sue for his freedom:African Americans were "beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."Majority Opinion written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney

53The Ruling“the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it."African-Americans were Private Property, and the Fourth and Fifth Amendments prohibit taking private property from citizens without just cause and due process.

54The ReactionFrederick Douglass: "my hopes were never brighter than now!“What?!Change the Constitution!2/3 of both houses of Congress3/4 of state legislators

55The 13th Amendment, 1865Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

56The 14th Amendment, 1868Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

58The Black CodesThe 13th Amendment had made slavery illegal, and involuntary servitude illegal, unless you had committed a crime.So many Southern states made it a crime to be black.

59The South Carolina Black Code"Negroes must make annual contracts for their labor in writing; if they should run away from their tasks, they forfeited their wages for the year. Whenever it was required of them they must present licenses (in a town from the mayor; elsewhere from a member of the board of police of the beat) citing their places of residence and authorizing them to work. Fugitives from labor were to be arrested and carried back to their employers. Five dollars a head and mileage would be allowed such negro catchers. It was made a misdemeanor, punishable with fine or imprisonment, to persuade a freedman to leave his employer, or to feed the runaway. Minors were to be apprenticed, if males until they were twenty-one, if females until eighteen years of age. Such corporal punishment as a father would administer to a child might be inflicted upon apprentices by their masters. Vagrants were to be fined heavily, and if they could not pay the sum, they were to be hired out to service until the claim was satisfied. Negroes might not carry knives or firearms unless they were licensed so to do. It was an offence, to be punished by a fine of $50 and imprisonment for thirty days, to give or sell intoxicating liquors to a negro. When negroes could not pay the fines and costs after legal proceedings, they were to be hired at public outcry by the sheriff to the lowest bidder...."

60Amendments fix problemsOutcry over the Black Codes led to the 14th and 15th Amendments.

61The 15th Amendment, 1870Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

63The Seneca Falls DeclarationWe hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

65The 19th Amendment, 1920The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

66The Amendments Summarize each of the Amendments, Amendment 11-27Explain the problem that they were written to fix and how it would fix that problem. (2 sentences)

67Warm up: 10/3/2008 What problem did the 18th Amendment try to solve?What problems did it create?

68Warm up: 10/6/2008For people to be free, government should be designed in this way:“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”James Madison, Federalist #51, 1788What do we call this system of government?How is this system supposed to work?

69Checks and Balances PosterDesign an original poster which shows the following:Each branch of governmentThe powers that each branch hasThe powers that each branch exercises over the other branches.